2017 a year to remember at MEST, and an incredibly exciting year for many of our companies. From the launch of 2 brand new incubator spaces in Lagos and Cape Town, to our twelve new portfolio companies, to the first acquisition by a MEST company, 2017 was a big year. As we enter 2018 and look to celebrate our tenth anniversary, we would like to look back at the top ten highlights for MEST companies from 2017!

Kudobuzz CEO Kena Amoah participated in PitchDrive

In August, Kudobuzz CEO Kena Amoah joined 13 other African startups for a tour of tech cities across Europe as a part of CcHub’s PitchDrive. During the trip, Amoah had the opportunity to visit London, Amsterdam, Zurich, and Berlin and pitch in front of a multitude of investors, entrepreneurs, and big players in the tech space.

TroTro Tractor and Ghalani joined the enPact mentoring programme

Starting in September 2017, TroTro Tractor and Ghalani were accepted into the Enpact mentorship program. During the course of eight months, participants attend two startup camps in Africa and Europe as well as receive mentorship from experts in technology, business, supply chain management, and more.

SynCommerce won TechCrunch Battlefield Africa

In October, SynCommerce won the Gaming and Entertainment category at the first edition of TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Africa in Nairobi. TechCrunch Startup Battlefield is the world’s preeminent startup competition, with previous winners including companies like Mint, Dropbox, and Yammer.

meQasa acquired Jumia House

In November, MEST Incubator Accra company meQasa acquired Jumia House Ghana, firmly establishing their property portal as the country’s largest and most trusted platform. WIth the acquisition of Jumia House Ghana, meQasa.com will have over 150,000 visits from property seekers every month.

Qisimah won a WSA 2017 award

In November, new MEST company Qisimah won a World Summit Award for the Best National Digital Solution in the Business in Commerce Category, which they will receive at the WSA Global Congress in Vienna, Austria in March 2018. Qisimah was congratulated by the government of Ghana in a press conference held by the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovations. Previous winners of the WSA Business and Commerce Category include HostelWorld, HootSuite, and TransferWise.

Asoriba expanded to Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa

2017 saw church CRM Asoriba scale to become a truly Pan-African brand. Asoriba first scaled their product to South Africa via the TechStars Barclay’s Accelerator, then to Nigeria with the help of MEST partner Interswitch, and most recently into Kenya. In the past, the company has been featured on CNN.

Flippy Campus piloted deal engine software

Flippy Campus pivoted in 2017 and piloted a new deal engine software, which will allow students to receive bargains on popular items through the app. The app now offers exclusive discounts for food, events, movies, and more.

Amplify rolled out mTransfers

Amplify Pay released a new payment solution called mTransfers, which will enable users to transfer funds and perform other banking services via Whatsapp, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Blackberry Messenger, Twitter, and other social media platforms without leaving the platform or switching apps.

Tress featured on BBC

Tress started 2017 with a bang as the company was featured as one of BBC News’ five African inventions to look out for. A social community mobile app, Tress provides black women and hair professionals a place to discover and share hairstyle inspiration, information, and tips.